I’m not a big fan of tablet style PCs or at least those that come much bigger than Apple’s iPod touch, which is an Internet tablet disguised as a portable media player if there ever was one. However, others feel differently – just witness the excitement over the upcoming CrunchPad. Yesterday, Archos threw its latest hat in the ring, announcing a yet-to-be-released 9 inch tablet-style “Mini-PC”.

Under the hood the Archos 9PCtablet is essentially a Netbook – Intel Atom processor etc. – that adds a 9 inch resistive touch screen and does away with the hardware keyboard. Most promisingly, the on-screen virtual keyboard looks both responsive and, thanks to the luxury of a 9 inch screen, large enough to be used comfortably for replying to quick emails and certainly entering in URLs when browsing etc. My favorite feature of the Archos 9, however, is the simple but brilliant kick stand that can be adjusted to several angles and addresses my biggest complaint about large tablet devices: the need to be supported by a hand or two, making them potentially uncomfortable for prolonged use. With the kick stand in use, the device turns into a very capable media player/Internet TV or coffee-table surfing station, and with the addition of a USB keyboard, can also double up as a traditional PC. OS-wise, the Archos 9PCtablet runs Windows 7.

Video of the Archos 9PCtablet in action via Archosfans.com after the jump…

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Archos press invite

Although it hasn’t been confirmed as such, Archos is hinting that it will unveil its first Android powered Mobile Internet Device (MID) at press event to be held in Paris on June the 11th. The company isn’t actually using the MID moniker and instead refers to said device as an Internet Media Tablet, emphasizing its support for a range of audio and video codecs, including High Definition video playback, along with the ability to surf the web and access other Internet-based content.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the use of Android brings telephony support to the table and, presumably, third-party applications downloadable from the Android Market app store.

Other than that, the device is said to sport a 5 inch touch screen, use TI’s OMAP 3 processor (the chip used to power Palm’s soon-to-be-released Pre smartphone), 3.5G connectivity, support for Adobe Flash, and provide up to 7 hours of video playback.

See also: Android’s biggest Netbook challenge (Hint: Windows)

Despite my skepticism of Android’s commercial potential running on a traditional Netbook, I think touch screen-based MIDs are a much more natural fit as they share a lot more heritage with smartphones (Android’s primary target). Additionally, one of my criticisms of existing MIDs, such as Nokia’s N810, is their lack of cellular connectivity – instead relying solely on WiFi – something that Archos’ upcoming Android device will address.

(via Engadget)

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